'He Led The Fullest Of Lives'

Paul Berte Recalled As The Ultimate Family Man

November 08, 2012|By MICHAEL WALSH, Special to The Courant, The Hartford Courant

Paul Berte would begin every day with a 7 a.m. Mass, at which he would pray for his family.

"Whether we were traveling or whatever, he'd start his day by saying a prayer for us," Sira Berte, his daughter, said. "He dedicated his life to us."

Berte, 71, died on Oct. 20. Those who knew him say he left a lasting legacy during his 44 years in town.

"Manchester was not his hometown, but you would think with the way he loved this town that he had grown up here," said Tom Ferguson, the deputy Republican registrar of voters and former board of directors member who met Berte in the late 1960s. "He loved living here. He loved being a part of the community. He put his heart and soul into everything he did."

His family said Berte was always there for them, no matter what was going on in his life.

"We just always felt very supported," said Sira Berte. "He was so fulfilled by family that he really balanced giving us everything he could in terms of his time and his love. Even on the busiest of days we were all having dinner at the end of each day."

And Berte had a lot of busy days. A lawyer by trade, Berte handled workers' compensation cases. He also volunteered his time on a number of committees, including the Manchester Housing Authority, the Savings Bank of Manchester's board of eirectors and the Manchester Republican Town Committee. Berte was also a former Republican State Central Committee member.

One of Berte's longest commitments began in 1995 when he became a board of trustee member for the Eastern Connecticut Health Network. Berte's wife, Susan Berte, recalled asking her husband whether he really intended to read the thick information packets he received prior to each board meeting. He always said yes.

"My dad's nature was really selfless and his true desire and mission to help others was so much a part of him that he never set out to do it, he just lived it," Sira Berte said. "It's definitely something we all sensed growing up."

Berte and his wife had lived in Washington D.C. and New York before moving to Manchester, where they quickly became involved in the community and raised four children.

"When he and Susan moved to Manchester, they dove into community activities," Ferguson said. "They became a part of this community immediately. That goes to credit his spirit of community service and just wanting to be part of and help grow your community."

Ferguson said Berte wasn't a stereotypical lawyer.

"He was a very kind and gentle man," said Ferguson. "This was not an overly aggressive man, what you would expect from a lawyer. He was a small-town lawyer who worked out problems through a spirit of mutual respect."

"He helped the people that lost their own voice," Sira Berte said of her father's law practice. "My dad really believed in these people. He didn't necessarily have an initial connection, but by the time they became a client of his he knew the family stories and much more than what had happened to them at work."

When it came time for family, Berte was always there. If he had to move hearings or meetings to make high school soccer games, he did it. Sira Berte recalled one family tradition her father started at dinner.

"We'd go around the table and talk about one thing new and one thing good in our days," said Sira Berte. "He couldn't wait to hear what we all had to say and always had interested questions. He remained present as we got older and things got more complicated."

Berte is survived by his wife, Susan, and three children, Sira, Thomas and Benjamin. His parents, Aldino and Maria Berte, and a daughter, Meg Berte Owen, died previously.

"He led the fullest of lives that he could," Sira Berte said. "We miss him. We're devastated he's not with us. But as a family we feel at peace that there wasn't anything he was talking about that he still wanted to do. He led his life every day and was very true to himself."